My Hand In Your's
by Evie Warner
Summary: A lot can change in a year; one just never notices until it's too late. Silver never expected much when it came to Gold, yet reuniting with his once-rival was all it took for things to change. And as he gets caught up in complications and emotions he doesn't understand, the more Silver struggles to stay grounded, the less he finds himself wishing for everything to make sense.
1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:** To fellow lovers of yaoi, I present to you my very first **Preciousmetalshipping** fic! I love Gold and Silver so much, and my obsession for the pairing has grown to the point that I just have to write something for the fandom. So yay!

Also, as I'm sure you guys have figured out, there's gonna be a couple more shippings present; the main one being **Originalshipping**, I guess. Aren't they so cute together? :D And along with that, I'm throwing in a few **Secondaryshipping** moments here and there, purely because I adore the pairing and am appalled at the lack of support it gets. Why on earth does no one love the ship? T_T

**Disclaimer:** Don't I _wish_ I owned Pokémon! Probably a good thing I don't, though. It wouldn't be nearly as awesome as it is if I did xD

**Dedication:** Ah yes, the legend herself: **Xx-Synthetic-Cyanide-xX**! One of the few passionate supporters of Secondaryshipping .. this fic is my way of returning the yaoi love!

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**Chapter One**

xxx

Everyone has their limits, whether or not they choose to admit them. Some are more common than one would have thought, while others much less so.

As for Silver, he had several; one of them was cold temperatures. Another was mountains; or more to the point, climbing them. And if there had ever been one thing that he had definitely written on his list of things he would never wish to experience in his life time, then no doubt it would be a combination of the two. Hands down, no contest.

But then, that one simple fact sparked a torrent of questions; such as why was he currently knee deep in the white flurry that covered the coldest place in all of Kanto and it's twin region? And what could be so important that he was _willingly_ hiking up the largest peak of earth anywhere from here to Unova?

And just what in the name of Arceus had possessed him to agree to take said journey purely to accompany the emerald eyed gym leader known as Green Oak?

How _utterly_ humorous that three loosely related questions could each have the exact same answer.

Gold.

The air-headed idiot ball, Johto's champion of three years, and Mt. Silver's newest permanent resident for almost an entirety of one of those years.

The overly frustrated red head huffed, his breath coming out as a thick cloud of white smoke. Geez, if he'd stopped to consider for just a single moment how much the one climb would embody two of the things he personally despised, then no doubt he would have seriously reconsidered. As in, he would have fled from Viridian City with a firm "no" on his behalf being the syllable that ended the conversation.

But no, he'd been roped into it. And like a complete moron, he'd willingly agreed.

With a second, more forceful huff, Silver began to pick up his pace as his trudged forward. The thick vest of glacial powder beneath him covered every last inch of anything in sight. He would have easily lost himself in the white wilderness had it been snowing heavily; the one positive outcome of the day was the lack of falling snow, only a fine dusting settling itself over the stoic red head, encrusting his hair in a flimsy layer of forming ice.

"Ugh!" He grunted, as his latest step forward buried his right leg up to his thigh. The icy moisture immediately began seeping through his jeans, a fresh wave of goose bumps rising on the stinging, pinkened skin beneath the denim. "Tell me we're not far from the top," he grumbled, pulling his dampened leg free from the snow, and scowling as he saw the extent of it.

"I could do that," came the reply from beside him. Green ran a hand through the snow encrusted spikes he called his hair, shaking the particles free. "But for your benefit, you should know that I'd be lying."

A growl rumbling in his throat, Silver marched onwards. "Well that's brilliant," he muttered sarcastically under his breath.

"Oh, lighten up," he heard Green say, his own pace unchanged. "You'll never make it halfway with that attitude."

And as the implication sunk in, Silver paused for a moment, then turned to glare over his shoulder at the approaching gym leader. "Don't tell me you're saying we're not even halfway yet," his choice of tone made his words sound remarkably like a death threat.

"Well," Green said, his eyes narrowing in thought, "we set out just before mid-day, and it's," he tugged back his sleeve to glance at his poké-gear, "almost ten minutes past four. If my calculations are accurate, then we're about an hour away from reaching the midway point."

It was through sheer force of will that Silver didn't drop to his knees and yell out in anguish. "Are you kidding?!" He snapped, his feet firmly rooted into the snow.

Green gave a nonchalant shrug. "I apologise for pointing out the obvious, but we'll both reach the top sooner if we keep walking," he said, bypassing the red head, who made no attempt to hide his scowl.

"And then what?"

Green looked over his shoulder, bringing the red head into his line of vision. "Please elaborate," he requested simply.

The younger's metallic eyes were all but alight with furious flames; the silver irises flickered eerily. "If we're barely halfway, then we're not reaching the top by night fall," he said, his voice low.

The gym leader raised an eyebrow. "Well done; I was wondering when you'd figure it out," he commented, ignoring the developing glare he was receiving. "Though if you had been paying attention before we left, you'd have noticed the supplies I'd packed were generous for our short visit. I'd imagine that would have been enough of a hint."

As Green turned and continued walking, Silver begrudgingly followed.

"The weather is clear, so we're able to climb at a much faster rate than in heavier snowfall. But although there could be a dozen quicker, and probably more convenient routes to the top than the one we're taking, it's near enough impossible to climb the entirety of Mt. Silver in one day," Green documented, his pace slow to allow the red head to catch up. "Meaning that unless you'd be willing to trek up the mountain and through the snow in the pitch darkness -not something I'd recommend, by the way- then we will have to stop for the night, and continue in the morning."

Silver came to an abrupt halt.

For a few moments, Green kept walking, but as the crunch of snow beneath boot ceased to exist behind him, he stopped also, looking over his shoulder. "Is there a problem?" He inquired, noting the red head's less-than-amused expression.

"The night?" Were the words Silver spoke.

Green arched one eyebrow. "Yes, that's what I said."

The change was rather amazing to witness; Silver's face, previously deadpan, rapidly contorted into one of anger, his eyes narrowing, irises alight with invisible flames, and his lips curling into a grimace.

" .. the night?!" He snapped, the words sharp, but quickly dying out against the snow. Idly, Green decided he was grateful they weren't higher up; he definitely preferred the idea of not freezing to death under an avalanche of snow. "No way, I did not sign up for this!"

Green closed his eyes, supressing a sigh. Had he known what charming company the stoic red head would have provided, then he'd have taken the time to flatly discourage him from taking one step up the mountain. "Silver - " But when he opened his eyes, he found himself staring at the back of the younger teen's head, as Silver was already several metres in the opposite direction; the distance between them getting larger by the second.

"Oh for - " Green cut himself off in mid-curse, dragging a hand down his face. "Silver!"

Resisting the urge to groan as the red head paid him no heed, Green sighed as the make-shift scarf around his neck moved, nudging his chin in the process.

Her ears twitching, the dozing normal-type shifted. Being currently curled around her trainer's neck, absorbing his body heat whilst remaining shielded from the freezing weather by the neckline of her trainer's jacket, Eevee was extremely reluctant to regain consciousness.

"Vui .. " She murmured, snuggling against her trainer's neck and curling up closer to him.

Green rolled his eyes. It was hard for him to say that he felt like Arceus wasn't frowning down upon him in recent days. Had he been in better favour with the legendaries, perhaps he wouldn't have gotten stuck with a more-insufferable-than-usual Silver.

"We'd be several metres higher if you weren't doing this!" The emerald eyed teen directed at the younger red head, yanking his snow-clumped shoes free and running after him. Or he tried to; running was a hard thing to achieve when almost knee deep in a thicket of snow. The overall effect was him hopping as far as he could from one foot to the other; for once he was thankful the snow was there - at least he had an excuse for looking like a deranged Golem with pins and needles.

"Be my guest," came the red head's response, as he showed no signs of stopping. At least not until he felt a hand latch onto his upper arm, but only momentarily, as he was then swiftly and none-too-gently in the opposite direction. He yelped in surprise at the initial motion, his free arm flailing for a moment and as he found himself forced to walk backwards, stumbling with every other step. "Dammit, Green; warn me would you?" He snapped, trying and failing to pull his trapped arm free.

"And give you the added chance of avoiding me?" Green inquired, keeping a firm hold on the red head to keep him from tripping over completely. "How well you know me, Silver."

The red head practically snarled in response; any non-existent onlookers would have thought Green was dragging along a rather hostile Growlithe.

"Mind your manners; we have a long trip up ahead, and it'll go a lot faster if we're on more agreeable terms," he scolded lightly, if only to get on Silver's nerves.

And it worked like a charm.

"They say honesty is a key factor in maintaining a friendly acquaintance," the red head retorted. He would have glared at his senior, had it not been required to keep his eyes on the ground to keep himself vertical.

"I'm aware," Green replied calmly. "We will get to that in time, when you've given me reason enough to trust you."

Screw staying upright.

"Think of it as a mutual agreement!" Silver snapped, wincing a little as his arm was twisted into an awkward angle. Had his attitude not been so indignant towards the emerald eyed gym leader, he would have thought it through a little more. But alas, he remained only subconsciously aware of how frustration blinded common sense.

"Yes, and we can begin by improving your little attitude defection," Green said, loosening his grip a little on Silver to slid his hand further up his arm. The whole maneuver would have a lot simpler if the red head had chosen to co-operate. Ah, such wishful thinking ..

And as if the red head was psychic as well as stubborn, the moment the wish had danced across Green's mind was the exact same one in which Silver had opted to go the extra mile, and firmly dug the heels of his boots as deep into the snow as he could manage. "You still have the option of continuing alone," he protested, as the uneven pace he'd been forced to walk soon slowed to a complete stand-still. "Remember; it'll be just how you had originally planned it."

"I do recall informing you of that decision," Green said, his voice coming out as a series of grunts as his task at hand became that much harder. He spun round to face Silver as the latter took the extra effort into being stubborn, sliding both arms around his chest and heaving him along. The feat alone was proving close to impossible as Silver's legs were stiff and unmoving, while his upper body was lax. Add to that an increasingly steep climb, a ton of snow and the added weight of a heavy back pack; Green was astounded that he was making even the slightest progress in hauling the red head.

And speaking of whom, had he always so freakin' heavy?!

"And yet," Green huffed, ramming his own heels in the snow as leverage to drag Silver, "I changed my mind for a few small reasons." He groaned in the strain of hauling the younger a metre higher. "First; it's been a year since either of those hermits have seen your face," he took another step back, burying his heel in, and pushing himself up with the other, "and upon realising it, Gold has ceased to quit pestering me about bringing you to visit." He chest heaved as his step count reached the third; his arms were beginning to feel weak under the strain. "He even offered up the suggestion that I should go ahead and kidnap you more than once."

With his arms being locked around him, Green could feel the scowling red head's scoff of distaste.

"Second," he continued, pausing to draw in breath, "Blue refused to let me leave the gym without taking you with me." The movement awkward, he wiped his shoulder against any part of his face he could reach, clearing it of the beads of sweat forming on his skin. "Third - " he cut off as he found himself jolting to a sudden halt.

Frowning, Green yanked Silver upwards a few times, but the red head remained stuck, his knees now bent. And as Silver tensed further with each time the gym leader tried to dislodge him from the snow, Green cursed under his breath as stood up as straight as his could manage, his emerald eyed then being able to spot exactly what it was that had caused the reluctant halt.

Silver, having had his legs dragged through the thick snow, had now snagged them onto a large rock. And conveniently enough, in thinking fast and latching onto it with his feet, there was no way Green would be able to dislodge him without letting him go; and in such a situation the red head would undoubtedly escape.

Just _brilliant_ ..

"Silver," the elder of the two spoke firmly, his heavy breaths controlled, "let go of the rock."

But as if to prove his defiance, Silver tugged at said rock, making Green slide forwards and unintentionally loosen his grip. "I'd rather not," he stated.

Through sheer willpower, Green reigned in the budding urge to drop Silver and storm off alone. No doubt it was matter of childish pride, but there was no way he was losing this one. "Third," he repeated, his teeth grit, "I was under the impression that for the duration of the trip, you would be _mature_ about it."

Okay, so perhaps it wasn't the best thing to say, considering the violent way Silver then tried to pull himself from Green's hold.

"Is that what you're going to lower yourself to, you hypocrite?"

As expected, he felt Green pause behind him. " .. your point being?"

Though the gym leader couldn't see him do so, Silver scowled. "Don't act so oblivious. You know it tends to be a sign of immaturity?"

He heard Green huff, though there was a slight chance it was because of fatigue. "Is that so?" He questioned. "Then would you be so kind as to enlighten me on the subject you are hinting at?"

"As if you wouldn't know," Silver said, flicking strands of his hair away from his face with a swift motion of his head. "It's insulting to yourself to walk around preaching that you were so damn 'adult' about everything. So don't look me in the eyes and tell me I'm the one being immature."

Still struggling with the unco-operative red head, Green scowled, and his grip tightened. "I was never the one who had to be dragged around everywhere just because it takes more than one day to get from the starting point to the finish line," he retorted. "Remind me exactly how you managed to get around Johto to complete your journey?"

"Simple: I stayed focused on the important things. As in, I didn't play around to visit two anti-socials who remove themselves from society so they can make residence atop some Arceus-forsaken mountain!"

Green threw his head back with a loud groan of frustration. "I am not getting into some stupid argument with you, Silver!"

"Of course," the red head rolled his eyes, "because you always opt for the 'mature' way to do things."

Emerald eyes darkened a few shades. "I'm warning you."

Silver turned his head enough to see the strained gym leader in the corner of his vision. "Refresh my memory; since when do you ever go around truly fulfilling those threats of your's?"

And with that, the red head landed with a muffled 'thud' in the thick snow as the grip around him abruptly vanished.

"Alright, that's it!" He heard Green exclaim. "If you'd like to stay here, or lose your way trying to get back to Viridian, then be my guest. Just don't come back and complain when you freeze half to death. If you think it's cold now, then wait until it gets dark."

With a scowl on his face, Silver pushed himself up on his elbows. "In case it wasn't obvious, I'd much rather spend the night lost in the wilderness than spend the entirety of the night with only you for company."

Green rolled his eyes. "Then tell me; do you even know the way back?"

Silver turned his upper body to look back at the frustrated gym leader. "I do tend to make a note of these things before jumping blindly in any direction."

"Good to know, because our tracks have probably been covered up by now," Green spoke, kicking the loose clumps of snow from his boots. "I can rest easy tonight knowing any guilt involving you doesn't rest on my conscience."

Metallic eyes glared back at him.

"I bid you good luck on your trek home," he added, then turned around and went on his own trek upwards.

Though he'd taken no more than ten steps before ..

"Ah!" He yelped in shock, as something extremely cold struck the back of his head with surprising force. His hand automatically came up to touch the now damp patch of his naturally spiked hair, feeling a dissolving clump of snow sticking to the auburn strands.

And there went the last of his self control.

The enraged gym leader spun round sharply, emerald eyes ablaze and quickly locating his target - Silver was now a sizeable distance away, his back to Green as he walked down the slope of the mountain; his guard was clearly down. Perhaps he was arrogant enough to believe that Green would not fall to such a petty level of revenge.

Oh, how wrong he was.

With no hesitation, Green knelt down, scooping up a large handful of snow and quickly shaping it into a sturdy ball. Then, with such precise accuracy only years of throwing and catching poké balls could perfect, he launched the generously-sized ball of snow into the air, which struck the back of Silver's neck with a very satisfying slap.

The sound -though in reality it was the contact- seemed to act as a trigger; the red head paused in mid-step, suspended in the exact position from when the snow ball had hit. He held the pose for a long moment, before slowly he turned around, metallic eyes narrowed and fixated on emerald.

"You know the saying," Green spoke, loud enough for the younger to hear from the distance, "an eye for an eye; consider us even now."

Famous last words, indeed; quicker than Green could have possibly prepared himself for, Silver, a second snow ball having already been pre-formed in his hand, threw the clustered flakes of ice at the gym leader with a force to rival a Blastoise's Hydro Cannon. And with barely a nano-second to react, Green found his natural instincts kicking in and causing him to dash to the side.

Yet he wasn't quick enough to avoid the impact completely. Or rather, _he_ was safe, and the one to get a face-full of snow was also the one who'd simultaneously recieved a very rude awakening.

Eevee shrieked in panic at the impact, her small claws on her front paws digging into the shoulder of Green's jacket, the jolt that had awakened her having sent her lower half falling from her trainer's other shoulder. She frantically gripped onto her only means of solid support with her front paws, as her hind legs flailed against her trainer's back, her chin resting on his shoulder as she blindly scrambled to get back up.

Of course her trainer, both out of concern for the brown fox, and the knowledge that she was unintentionally ripping out more than a few threads on his jacket, reached over his shoulder to catch hold of her by the scruff of her neck, easing her forward, then lifting her into his arms, where she promptly shook herself free of snow, rubbing her face with the back of her paw.

"_Vui!_" She chirped angrily as she wiped her wet face clear of snow, before her dark eyes snapped open, no longer blinded by the chilled flakes. They soon settled in the direction of the obviously responsible red head, narrowing dangerously as a frown settled itself on her furry features.

Green could barely supress a laugh as he observed the normal-type's reactions from above. Then he watched with amusement at the combination of her embarassment and wrath as she swiftly launched herself out of his arms with a strong kick from her hind legs. Her front paws reached out in front of her, claws extended, while her teeth were bared. A rather savage hiss reverberated from her throat as she soared through the air with revenge on her mind ..

.. rapidly losing altitude, and landing with a barely audible 'thump'. She disappeared entirely beneath the thick vest of snow, merely a few feet from her trainer, and more than three times that distance from the one she'd sworn revenge on.

The short silence that followed was broken as Green lost the self control that had lingered; mostly spluttering with laughter at the scenario.

Brown, fluffy ears pricked up from the snow, twitching this way and that; a moment later, bright black eyes peaked over the surface of the snow, only to disappear from view almost immediately as she sunk back down.

The process repeated itself; the brown fox leapt up as high as she could manage, inching forward as she ultimately sunk through the snow. She was making very slow progress, one that two sets of eyes observed her; one emerald, the other silver.

"Be careful," came a dry remark, as Eevee's efforts brought her distance to a grand total of half a metre. "She'll get lost."

Green looked up to face Silver, whose gaze remained fixated upon the brown. "I could say the same in regards to you," he replied with a shrug. "The 'being careful' part, at least. She isn't one to forgive and forget."

And as if she'd been waiting for this cue, Eevee let out a hiss as she continued to scramble through the snow. Though if she'd been hoping for the sound to cause an effect on the red head, she would be sorely disappointed.

"I'm sure I'll live through it," he commented flatly, then turned on his heel to walk away. He'd taken a maximum of two steps before;

"I know it doesn't seem very far, or that complicated, but you won't make it back to Viridian by nightfall."

Silver paused, if only to glare over his shoulder at his senior. "I'll be the judge of that," he spoke, but was interrupted yet again before he could leave.

"I'm serious, Silver," the gym leader called back, "it won't be long until it gets dark, and by then it'll be far too cold to do much besides freezing to death." As Silver just continued to stare, he added, "And if I'm honest, I don't want a snarl on Blue's face to be the last thing I see before she chokes me to death over letting you walk unprepared into a frozen maze."

One of Silver's eyebrow's quirked upwards. "The thought is tempting; almost too much to pass up."

Green rolled his eyes, shoving his hands into his pockets. "It's a chain reaction, Silver," he said. "It just takes one little action to cause uncontrollable consequences, then you end up with collateral damage on both sides." He sighed as Silver's expression refused to change. "Look, if you want to leave then I won't stop you, just don't do it tonight."

"Then what would you propose I do until then?" Silver inquired, to which Green shrugged.

"We find a cave, spend the night there, and in the morning I can keep going up, while you go back."

Silver continued to stare in disinterest; the lack of a verbal response made Green sigh.

"If you're concerned about sleeping in a cave, it's not as bad as you'd think. That is, as long as you don't decide to sleep on the ground; that's always uncomfortable. You'll wake up with one hell of a back ache - "

"If I were to say yes, would you shut up?"

Green, having looked away, returned his gaze to Silver, whose stance remained unchanged aside from that his eyes were now closed. "I'm not promising anything," he said, though with a hint of a smirk.

While he couldn't quite hear it, from the motion he made, Green guessed Silver sighed.

"If this is your true personality, then I'm beginning to miss Gold's company," he heard the red head grumble. Then he spoke louder, "You have a problem that needs solving first, though."

Green raised an eyebrow, feeling a small frown tug at his lips. "And that would be?"

Metallic eyes opened to meet emerald green. "You lost Eevee."

While Green's initial reaction was to simply pause and blink, it wasn't much longer before his gaze fell to the ground, sweeping over the area that distanced him from the red head. Aside from the miniature fissure in the snow Eevee had dug out, along with Green's own footsteps, the snow was otherwise untouched. And unmoving.

" .. Eevee?" Her trainer found himself inquiring, scanning the snow for any giveaway as to her whereabouts. There was none. "Ah, shit," he cursed under his breath, then called out louder, "Eevee?"

His natural instincts were urging him to dug through the snow until the familiar bundle of brown and white fur burst out into view, but at the same time, he was rooted to the ground with paranoia of unintentionally stepping on her.

" .. vui .. ?"

The sound was muffled and distant, as though it's source were hidden under a large duvet. The reassurance that the normal-type hadn't dashed off somewhere, or gotten kidnapped by a wild Misdreavus during the brief period of distraction was enough to calm Green enough to keep him from clearing the area of snow in a manic rush, but with the sound, there was no movement.

"Eev? Can you move at all?" Green questioned, eyes sharp and senses alert for any sign of her whereabouts.

"Vuii .. !" He heard her coo from wherever she was; he knew her well enough to distinguish that particular tone as a negative answer.

"This could go on for a while .. "

Green looked up as he heard the red head speak, seeing Silver pull a poké ball from his belt. "What are you doing?" He inquired, as Silver tossed the chosen poké ball in the air. A moment later, Sneasel materialised before him.

"_Snee sel ~ _" The dark and ice type hissed, looking back at her trainer as he spoke;

"Eevee is in the snow somewhere; could you find her?"

"_Snee!_" The sharp claw pokémon confirmed, and with Vine Whip-like reflexes she skimmed over the surface of the snow, her face very nearly touching the ground as she moved on all fours. Every so often, she seemed to hiss into the flakes of ice, occasionally scratching daintily against the surface with her claws before moving on.

In silence, Green watched with a sense of fascination. A few times he wanted to speak up, to fill the growing period of muteness, but in a strange way, he felt like he'd be ruining something if he did, like casually conversing with someone whilst stacking poké balls atop one another. As though the general sound would break what was being some.

"_Sneasel!_" The dark and ice type suddenly exclaimed, digging her claws into the snow and shovelling it aside. Before Green could question the development, Sneasel scooped up one last portion of snow, and bringing the ice encrusted normal type along with it.

"V - vui .. " She chattered through clenched teeth, shivering in Sneasel's arms. From the distance between where she'd been dug up, and where she'd crash landed in the snow, Green was certain she'd ditched the plan of hopping through the snow, and instead tried to dig through it.

And somehow, he wasn't surprised when coming to this conclusion.

Displaying her sharp reflexes once again, Sneasel was quick to reach Green's side, offering up the half frozen fox to him. The moment the normal type was back in her trainer's arms, she didn't hesitate to snuggle as close to him as was humanely possible; pulling down the zip on his jacket and clambering inside to absorb the warmth of his chest.

"Geez, Eevee," her trainer murmured, zipping his jacket back up with her inside. The snow on her fur was quick to soak through the material of his shirt, but it was easily ignored. "Are you alright?" Though all she seemed able to do was vibrate with the harsh chill that clung to her, Green felt her give a shaky nod against his chest, before curling up into a ball.

"I assume this means we're stopping?"

Green jumped a little at the closer proximity of Silver's voice. He looked up at the red head, who's metallic eyes focused on his. "It would seem so," he replied, his gaze flickering aside, noting how the previously light blue sky was taking on a distinct pink undertone. "At most it'll be an hour before the temperature really begins to drop, and I don't want Eevee to get sick. We'll find a cave somewhere."

The response he recieved was a shrug, before the red head swept his hand aside, indicating for Green to lead the way.

xxx

"Tell me; how much longer will it be before we reach the top?"

As he zipped his back pack up, Green's gaze flickered over to the red head, who's own eyes were fixated on the fire crackling near the entrance of the cave they'd taken up as residence for the night.

"If we leave no later than nine tomorrow morning, then I'd say we should get there at some point in the afternoon," he answered, pushing the pack aside and leaning back against Arcanine, who was laying against the curved wall of the cave and providing warmth for the two teen who were using him as a back rest.

Silver sighed, his eyes closing. "Who was the imbecile who gave those hermits the impression that it was a good idea to live at the top of the most dangerous mountain in the region?"

Green, watching the red head, couldn't help but smirk. "Are you seriously asking me what goes on in their heads?" He teased, prompting one metallic eye to glare back at him. "Though if you'd like to take a shot at trying to convince them to come back down, be my guest. If your attempt is successful, I'd be eternally grateful."

Beside him, Silver scoffed, his recently opened eye closing once again. "If you were unsuccessful, I doubt I'd be able to make a difference."

"I beg to differ," Green responded, with a slight shrug. "Gold goes on about you a lot, so you might be able to deter his stubborn decision to stay up there."

Silver scoffed so lightly it came out as a short exhale. "Why am I doubting that it's Gold you wish to bring home?"

This time, Green smiled. "It's simple, really; if Gold leaves, then it's only a matter of time before Red follows." He heard a shuffling beside him, and saw Silver turn his head to face him, his eyes open and his expression questioning. "Red climbed up this mountain mainly for two reasons," he elaborated. "The first was to train, which was something he wouldn't be able to do well without a lot of strong pokémon to battle and a harsh environment to endure. But by now his own pokémon are so overpowered, even this place isn't proving much of a challenge anymore, which is why he allowed Gold to stay and train with him."

Silver raised an eyebrow. "So to put it simply, he was bored," he stated flatly, to which Green chuckled.

"Yeah, that just about sums it up," he agreed. "His own pokémon have reached a level at which they can each take down the Elite Four while suffering every status problem there is, and still be raring for more. He's not that interested in expanding his team, so he agreed to do the one thing that sparked his interest. Gold is the first person to become the regional champion since he did, and the only person who can give him any real challenge, so why not accept that one person as your protégé?"

Silver sighed. "If that one person is Gold, then I can think of several good reasons."

Green's smile grew. "Oh yeah? Please enlighten me." Though at the sharp glare he recieved in response, he had to turn away to refrain himself from laughing. "At least inform Red of your reasons; I'm sure he'd be thrilled to hear someone criticise one of the few people who have seen him smile. And in case you weren't aware, that's a pretty huge deal to witness such a thing."

Looking back at Silver, he saw the red head giving him a rather blatant, sarcastic stare. "You're implying that Red is actually capable of emotion."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply," Green said, before clearing his throat. "I'll say it outright, instead - believe it or not, Red can smile." And for good measure, Green himself flashed a smile at Silver, who's expression remained unchanging.

"I'll believe it when I see it."

The smile on Green's face transformed into a smirk. "Good luck with that." As he leaned back, he was idly aware of Silver shaking his head.

"The second reason?"

"For staying up the mountain?" He continued when he saw Silver nod in confirmation, "Red doesn't like attention."

A long pause followed.

" .. that makes a lot of sense," came Silver's eventual dry remark, to which Green raised an eyebrow, urging him to elaborate. "You'd think he would have considered that when he challenged the Indigo League."

Beside him, Green gave a low hum of thought. "That's a legitimate point," he agreed. "But when it comes to Red, I strongly advise you not to think too much about the way he works. You'll never survive the experience."

Silver rolled his eyes. "Noted," he muttered under his breath, loud enough for Green to hear. "But tell me how convincing Gold to move back home is meant to deter Red?"

Emerald eyes lit up a little as the original subject was brought back into discussion. "Ah yes, well that's another thing about Red; despite the impression everyone gets about him, you'd be amazed at how lonely he can get."

Again, Silver's expression was disbelieving. " .. be serious."

In mock surrender, Green raised both his palms out in front of him. "I kid you not. That guy wouldn't last a week alone."

Unconvinced, Silver scoffed. "Then if that's true, why would you think he'd consider letting Gold leave?" He inquired.

At the question, a different kind of smile touched Green's features; for a few moments, Silver was certain he could list it as genuine affection.

This mountain was really beginning to mess with his head ..

"Because," the gym leader spoke, "he cares a lot more about his loved ones than he does himself." When he noticed the lingering silence in the air, and the confusion in Silver's eyes, he went on, "Basically, we have Red on our side."

Slowly, Silver raised an eyebrow. "Would you care to explain how you worked that one out?"

At that, Green chuckled lightly. "When something arises for someone to be concerned about, though nothing potentially serious, then what would usually be a general happening that any normal person experiences and keep their cool about, is one of the few things that makes Red come as close as he can to freaking out."

" .. really?" Silver's tone remained flat, and disbelieving. "Then how does that relate in any way to Gold, and bringing him back home?"

"Because," Green intertwined his fingers behind his head, resting comfortably against Arcanine, "it would seem that the weather several miles up has finally taken a realistic effect; Gold isn't in such perfect health as he used to be."

"He's ill?" Silver questioned, his eyebrow elevating further. "How so?"

"Nothing serious; just a cold," Green gave some variation of a shrug, "but Red, the living, breathing immune system, knows next to nothing about general health care, and is becoming increasingly paranoid. The way he goes about it, one would think Gold is on death's door."

Silver scoffed. "I can imagine that wouldn't do much to stop Gold doing .. " He paused. " .. whatever it is he does up there," he finished, nudging his head in the direction of Mt. Silver's peak.

"You know him well. Red tends to blow those kinds of things out of proportion when he worries, but I saw them both last week, and Gold was up about like any other day." He then nudged his back pack with his foot. "And that brings us to the reason to visit this time - bringing medicine to sick."

"Hmm," was the extent of Silver's comment on the subject.

For the following few minutes, both teens were silent, but that silence was comfortable.

Green's gaze lingered on the far wall of the cave, lazily examining the scratches and chips in the rock to the point where they almost seemed to blend together into a pattern. The fire crackled on merrily a few feet away, though slowly dying out as the branches it feasted on were reduced to little more than charcoal.

A rumbling yawn rippled the otherwise muteness of the atmosphere as Arcanine shifted in his position to one more comfortable, before settling his large head down between his paws, where Eevee and Sneasel lay, curled up against one another and had already long since lost the battle between unconsciousness. Sneasel's clawed arms encircled the brown fox in a tender embrace, her face nuzzled into the fluffy white mane; while Eevee's ears twitched on occasion as she dreamed on happily, a hint of a smile on her face.

Green himself smiled at the scene beside him, before directing his gaze to the red head on his other side.

Silver's eyes were half lidded, his namesake irises alight and flickered with the reflected flames they were focused on. Combined with his relaxed posture, he looked as though he would doze off within the next few minutes.

"We should sleep," Green spoke quietly, his own eyelids beginning to feel heavy. "If we continue climbing early enough, it shouldn't be later than the afternoon by the time we get there."

He recieved a relaxed "hmm," in response.

"That is, unless you throw another strop and want me to carry you again. If that happens, we'll never get there - just a heads up."

He smirked in response to the glare he recieved, though Silver had apparently chosen against a verbal reply.

"Good night, then," Green concluded with a small smile, his eyes closing before he'd finished his sentence. He settled himself comfortably against Arcanine, the fire-type's high body temperature providing more than enough heat to render sleeping bags unnecessary for the teens to stay warm. And even as the dying fire finally extinguished, each orange strand of fur on Arcanine's body emitted a dim glow, filling the would-be dark cave with a soothing light.

"And the fourth reason," Green found himself saying, one corner of his lips curling into a smile he hoped the red head was aware of, "you known you miss Gold, really."

A swift kick to his shin was the last reaction Green could coax out of Silver before all in the interior of the cave fell still and silent once again.

xxx

* * *

**Author's Note:** Ah, that was fun. A whole chapter dedicated to Silver and Green .. life is good! Oh, and while I'm here, I should mention that despite what this chapter may imply, this isn't gonna follow the formula of 'Green goes up the mountain to see Red', only with Preciousmetalshipping thrown in. Sure, that's what's happening right now, but that's not the whole plot. There's a lot of stuff ready and waiting to happen!

And moving on, if you found that you liked this, pretty please could you leave a review? I'll love you forever if you do ~


	2. Chapter Two

**Author's Note:** Bring out the streamers and party-hats, dear readers, for today I am officially nineteen! I shall dance the night away as you all sit back and enjoy this slightly-shorter-than-planned chapter :D

**Disclaimer:** I own a variety of Pokémon-related merchandise, but the franchise itself is still far out of my reach.

* * *

**Chapter Two**

xxx

If he had the impossible chance to alter just one thing with how the universe worked, then Silver wouldn't have needed to think twice about his given answer. Quite frankly, it was downright impossible how the morning light came rolling by so quickly. No matter how early he went to bed, nor how much sleep he recieved through the night, he would never awaken bright and chipper as _certain other people_.

Silver rolled his eyes before closing them. Finding out first hand how the strict routine-man stuck to his planned schedule like a Shellder to a Slowpoke's tail had been an experience that both infuriated and came with little surprise. He'd never thought about Green's life outside of work, but if he had, the thought of the gym leader being some easy-going, spontaneous guy seemed about as likely as Red secretly having a phenomenal singing voice.

Yet still, _Green_ was the one who was currently postponing their resumption of the rest of their hike. In a burst of his overbearing OCD striking, Green had remained inside the cave they'd sought shelter in, rummaging through his pack for one reason, or another. And since the ceiling of the cave was far too low to allow either of them to stand up without slouching over, Silver had taken the option of waiting outside. It was cold to just stand around, but at least his legs wouldn't be cramped up.

With a heavy sigh being the sole indication to his boredom, Silver scuffed his boots through the layer of snow beneath him. He was thankful that it wasn't as thick here as it had been for the initial part of their journey, now reaching roughly an inch past his ankles rather than to his knees.

Supressing a yawn, Silver rubbed the sleep dusting his eyelashes, his vision bleary as he moved his hand away. The blurred shapes that made up the scenery around him took their sweet time in returning to their proper locations, though since a blank sheet of white made up a vast majority of the limited colours surrounding him, it didn't make all that much of a difference in that precise moment.

Even so, his vision was only one of five senses; his most vibrant one at this time was what he could hear.

Being halfway up a very high, steep mountain, it was no surprise that the wind never ceased. Yet it wasn't a strong, or violent gust, just a relatively gentle breeze. It whistled as it rushed against the open, frozen atmosphere, and throwing strands of Silver's red hair into his face, making him twitch involuntarily as the occasional lock whipped against his cheeks, and at the sensitive skin under his closed eyes.

"_Snee!_" The familiar voice growled playfully, somewhere close by.

It was followed shortly by a hyperactive squeal of "_Vui!_" and as Silver opened one eye to observe, he was greeted with the sight of Eevee scrambling through the snow -with much more ease than she had the day before- while being pelted by the small snow balls being fired in rapid succession by Sneasel. Though she was quite clearly fighting a losing battle, Eevee was able use her tail as she batted a few aside, but for the most part, her behind was covered in glacial powder.

"Alright then," a third voice sounded from behind him. Silver spun round to face the source, and saw Green standing a few feet away, extending his arms above his head. "Are you ready to head off, now?" He questioned, then gave a soft sigh of content as he let his arms flop to his sides.

With both eyes now opened, Silver frowned at his senior. "I have been for at least twenty minutes," he said, his voice low.

Green seemed to have heard it, though. "Ah yes, sorry. But if it makes you feel better about it, here," and without any other warning, he tossed something towards the red head, who hesitated in surprise only briefly before he reached out to catch it before it could hit his chest then drop to the floor.

"Protein bar?" He questioned as he glanced at the brand name.

Green shrugged, tearing the wrapper off his own. "Be thankful it doesn't mean we'll be waiting around for another hour," he said, as he put the scrunched up foil in his pocket. "He besides," he took a small bite, "you could do well with gaining some muscle tone."

At the look he recieved in response, Green smirked.

"Be honest with me, do you ever work out? As in aside from the training you do with your pokémon?"

Silver scowled at him, and inquired, "Is there a reason why you feel the need to know?"

Green shrugged, walking past the displeased red head while devoid of visible fear of being struck down with a fist to his face. "Call it curiosity," he replied, slowing his pace for a moment to allow Eevee, who was shaking the snow from her fur, to catch up to him.

Silver continued to scowl, now at the back of the gym leader's head as his fist clenched, snapping the bar in half inside of the foil wrapping. "The similarities between you and Gold are impeccable at times," he growled, matching Green's pace with Sneasel beside him, the sharp claw pokémon aiming another snow ball at the naïve, unsuspecting brown fox just a few feet ahead.

Both teens rolled their eyes in unison as a familiar shriek pierced the air, followed by what couldn't be mistaken for anything but a malevolent giggle.

xxx

"Snow."

"Correct; your turn."

"I spy something .. small and purple."

" .. that Misdreavus we passed twenty minutes ago?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of that one, over there." True to word, the little ghost pokémon happily floated by in the distance, probably singing to itself. "But close enough. Your turn."

A sigh. "I spy something cold."

"Snow?"

"Correct."

Another sigh. "If you're not even putting the effort into it, then I refuse to go along purely for your own enjoyment, Silver. I'm bored, too."

The red head in question rolled his eyes. "There's nothing _but_ snow to spy. Aside from that Misdreavus, the rest of the wild pokémon on this mountain are roughly half a mile that way," he tilted his head back for a moment, indicating to the general area in question.

"Point taken. To counter it, I propose a new rule; we can make things up as long as it's possible we have, or will see them up here."

"You're proposing we make things up?"

"Consider it a new way of unleashing your creativity."

"And here I thought Gold would be the death of me. It seems that the honour of killing me going to you."

Green directed a smirk at the red head. "You said it yourself; the similarities are impeccable."

"Unfortunately."

Green rolled his eyes, but his smirk remained. "Ah, humor me. We can't be more than an hour away from the top. Or perhaps it's a lot less than that - I can never be certain when I get this high up."

Silver made an intelligible sound in respond. There was snow everywhere, stretching out on the ground for as far as he could see - that Green could make any kind of prediction, regardless of how accurate he was, it was at least somewhat impressive. "And I would like to survive what little of the journey we have left," he responded, idly kicking his foot sharply to rid it of the larger clumps of snow.

"Fine then, I'll go first," Green offered. His emerald eyes scanned the area for a long while, then he spoke, "I spy something beginning with 'P'."

Silver sighed heavily. "Pokédex?"

"Nope."

Silver turned to his head to draw the gym leader into his line of vision, one eyebrow raised. "Anything else with 'poké' in it's given name?"

"You know I have more originality than to select something so trivial," Green responded with the smirk that came so naturally to him, Silver suspected he could spontaneously start laughing manically and still everyone would remain oblivious to whatever villain-style heist he could be planning. Now there was an image he wouldn't be forgetting about anytime soon ..

"The more time I spend in your company, the more I begin to wonder how much of that is true," he replied honestly.

There was no attempt on Green's behalf to hide his laugh - one devoid of any villain-esque qualities. "Then let me settle your concerns and tell you that the answer is no."

"Image my relief," Silver replied, idly impressed at his own ability to inject that level of sarcasm into his words.

"Oh, lighten up," Green crooned, nudging the red head with his elbow. "It's like I said, we don't have much further to go. Time goes faster when you're not focusing on it."

Metallic eyes remained staring straight ahead, while Silver's lips pressed themselves into a firm, tense line. The way his stare penetrated the ground, one would have thought the snow would be melting beneath it.

With a roll of his eyes, Green then directed them to look at their two pokémon companions. "Sneasel, one day you'll have to tell me how you put up with him. I'm sure the world would be just as eager to know," he spoke, earning a high-pitched laugh from both the sharp claw pokémon, and the normal-type trotting beside her.

Beside him, Green was positive he heard the red head mutter, "traitor" under his breath. But for the option of not getting into an argument that would likely end with them buried several feet under a violent avalanche, Green chose not to mention it.

"So, keep guessing," was what he chose to say instead.

Silver sighed for what must have been the thirtieth time that day. "Is there a point to this? I'd be happy to spend the rest of the journey in silence."

"So you give up?" Green smirked as Silver gave him that oh-so-familiar stare he was rapidly becoming acquainted with.

"Now do you understand what I meant when we discussed maturity?"

In mock-surrender, Green raised his hands up in front of him. "My apologies for trying to lighten the mood," he said, though the still-prominent smirk on his face erased any scrap of the possibility of convincing the red head that his words were genuine. "But unless you can guess it, then I'm afraid you'll never hear the end of it."

"You'll lose interest by the end of the day, if you haven't forgotten by then."

"Maybe so," Green agreed with a shrug, before sliding his hands back in his pockets. "But it's a good enough threat. And I'm sure Gold would like to hear about our rather animated journey so far."

"Then remind me to replay the incident of how you slipped and angered that gathering of Graveller," Silver's tone was flat, but there was no mistaking his threat was genuine. "And remember that route is off-limits on the way back down. I'd like to survive past twenty."

"Consider it done," Green replied, his smirk still evident. "And if it helps, I'll give you another hint; it despises nearly everyone that it's trainer doesn't."

Silver rolled his eyes. "You could have at least given me a challenge," he groaned.

"I tried that, and it wasn't working."

Metallic eyes narrowed dangerously, but for the sake of not wanting to slip on the increasingly unstable ground, that was there their gaze remained. "Pikachu," he responded, idly aware of how Green gave a short nod.

"Very good; you're smarter than you look." Perhaps their time together was allowing him to start building up an immunity, or growing up with the crimson stare of the Kanto champion lingering on him had long since de-sensitised him to any kind of it, but the glare he recieved left Green unfazed. "Now it's your turn."

"I'll pass."

"Silver, what did I say about contributing? This is a group effort, you know."

"_Fine_," the red head spat the word out like venom on his tongue, "then I spy something, brash, annoying, and with an inability to shut up."

"Hmm," Green hummed, tapping his chin in mock-thought. "You talk in such riddles, Silver .. but my answer shall have to be one of the two people we're on our way to visit."

" .. if you say so," was the response. "Are you satisfied enough to be quiet, now?"

He heard Green scoff beside him. "Absolutely not! We still have a way to go," the gym leader replied. "And since that is the case, I spy something .. white."

Before Green could comprehend exactly what was going on, part of his vision was clouded out as one side of his face was rammed with something cold, that had been launched with impressive force.

"Ah!" He yelped out on instinct, stumbling away from the source of the attack. He reached up to wipe the frozen substance from his face, and ending up with his sleeve coated in snow. "What the hell was that for?" He demanded of the red head, who patted his gloves free of the evidence.

"Couldn't you at least be more original?" Silver snapped, already storming off ahead without a second glance at the stunned gym leader.

Green quickly jolted out of his stupor, and jogged forward to match Silver's charged pace. "Then tell me what makes you so sure I spied snow?" He inquired, pressing his warm palm against his now chilled cheek; the skin no doubt bright pink from the harsh abuse.

"Do you see anything else around here that's white?!" The annoyed red head spat, mostly through grit teeth.

Emerald eyes widened at Silver's vicious display; who knew mentioning snow at such a time would nail his berserk button dead-on?

"Well for starters, there's the clouds, Eevee's mane, and I remember putting on a white shirt before we left yesterday, so that counts," Green listed off, if only for the sake of it. Though the higher his word count, the more it seemed to aggravate the red head; Green could physically hear him growling by the time he'd finished his sentence. "But back to the subject at hand, I'll have you know I hadn't given you all the clues."

Silver scoffed sharply, a thick puff of white cloud spurting from his mouth as he did so. "Does it make a difference?"

"I'll have you know it makes all the difference there is," Green claimed. "Since the spied thing in question isn't just white, but also red."

"Right, the snow."

"Which isn't red, genius."

"It will be if you don't shut up."

One of Green's eyebrow's rose as his gaze found the red head. "Are you always so violent?"

A glare was the response he got.

"Alright, fine! But I promise you, it's not snow."

"Don't go on about that like it's a positive thing," Silver huffed, turning his gaze ahead once again.

"It narrows things down, doesn't it?" Green pointed out. "And if it helps, we can't see it now, but we will soon."

"I gathered that much," was the response. The pause that followed was then broken by the red head's sigh. "Poké balls?"

"Nope, we can both see them."

Again, Silver sighed. Or he huffed, at least. "Your pokégear?"

"You're way off, Silver. It's not a kind of gadget."

"Is it any type of pokémon?"

"It's almost constantly seen around several of them."

"It's something to do with Red, isn't it?"

Green smirked. "Perhaps .. "

In no mood to be teased, yet too drained to snap back, Silver instead rolled his eyes. "It's not a gadget, it involves Red, and is nearly constantly seen around pokémon."

"That is correct."

"_I've got it!_"

For the effect the loud exclamation had on them, it would have made little difference had they instead fallen through thin ice into below zero depths. Both teens jolted to a halt, sharp inhales almost choking them in the abrupt motion.

"It's Red's hat, right?"

That voice ..

"I mean, if it's not, then I'm stumped. It's gotta be!"

A rush of light-headedness came close to overpowering Silver as he sharply spun around, and the instant he did, his temporarily blurred vision fell upon a face he hadn't seen in almost an entire twelve months. One that was very nearly identical to the one he held in living memory; the few differences were subtle, yet obvious when making a conscious effort to look for them.

"Fuck, Gold!" The eldest of the three beat him to it. "Warn us next time, would you?"

Yet despite the glare of utmost contempt being focused upon him in that very moment, the Johto champion's lips were parted in that infuriatingly annoying grin of his, his entire demeanour unfazed by the minor flash of near-hysteria he'd invoked. And the consequences that would likely follow.

"I object, you guys had plenty of time see me here. Don't go blaming me for getting so caught up in all those mind games of your's that you didn't notice. Weren't you always going on about your phenomenal reflexes last time you were here? What happened to those, is being around Silver bringing them down?"

Whether or not Gold was aware of the fact that the older two teens had narrowed their eyes into matching glares, it seemed he was immune whatever option was reality. In fact, the most notable reaction he gave was merely his typical habit of flicking the explosive chunk of hair he called a fringe out of his eyes. Some things never changed, apparently.

"How long have you been standing there?!" The red head snapped, his silver irises narrowed into slits at the permanently grinning teen before him.

The teen in question gave an elongated hum, as his own eyes emerged themselves in thought. Now there was a rare sight. "Around about the time of 'brash and annoying', by my count. But really, Silv, I know he can be a bit overbearing at times, but there's really no need to talk about Red like that. He's a cool guy once you get to know him properly," were the words that tumbled easily from his still curved lips.

"Figures you'd do that, you incompetent eavesdropper," the fuming red head muttered under his breath, though from the way Gold tilted his head, it was obvious the ebony-haired teen had heard him.

"Aw, gee Silv, it's been a whole year and that's all you have to say to me?" His lips remained curved, except they were now doing so the opposite way as his entire expression twisted into one of artificial grief. "That hurts, y'know; words, they bring such pain to my poor heart." And to complete the pathetic display, he slapped his hand on his chest, over his heart.

"Get over yourself, Gold, I'm sure you'll live to see the end of today," they both heard the disgruntled gym leader say, his sentence broken up by repeated chirps from an overly-concerned Eevee yapping and dancing around his legs.

"_Snee_," the dark and ice type cooed, reaching a claw out to pet Eevee's mane, providing the comfort neither of their trainers were able to focus on in that moment. The gesture was accepted, as Eevee purred while contenting herself to snuggling into Sneasel's offered embrace, her furry features displaying how reassured the one action had made her.

However, the same couldn't be said for either of their trainers, who were as far from 'forgive-and-forget' as either of them could be.

"If that's an offer, then I'll take it. Red's been freaking out all morning waiting for you two to get here. Seriously, what took you so long?"

"Let me count the ways," Silver muttered under his breath, "but tell me, does Green always take an extra hour in the morning to pack and re-pack before getting around to doing anything?"

"If I told you that, you'd be shocked and appalled," was Gold's easy answer, his irises holding a teasing glint as their gaze met emerald green.

"Don't make it sound like I was the only one!" Green snapped back. "At least what I was doing meant we were organised. Remind me what you contributed with your little hissy fit?"

In his chest, Silver was positive he could feel his heart jutting to a slight stop as he caught the sight of Green's features radiating a malicious smirk.

"Silv, did you flip out over nothing again? All that yelling and pent-up anger can't be good for your health, y'know." Then he directed at Green, "What happened this time?"

"Oh, that? We had to put the journey on hold when Silver decided a few hours too late that climbing a mountain wasn't his fore take."

In the nano-second he had to decide, Silver weighed his options. On one hand, he could punch Green to shut up him and do whatever it took to avoid his pokémon companion's wrath on the matter - apparently he should be grateful she'd decided to let the matter from yesterday slide. Of course, Gold, being the moron that he was, would likely find another way to get it out of Silver if Green refused to talk. On the other hand, Silver always had the option of hoping for a distraction.

Heh, such wishful thinking. And going by Gold's expression, the teenage champion was already intrigued.

"Foretake, huh?" He inquired, repeating the motion of flicking his fringe from his eyes, only to have it immediately fall back into it's original place against his forehead. Silver found himself wishing he'd bought a pair of scissors with him. Then again, perhaps Sneasel would be up to the job, as long as Gold didn't move and end up losing more than just a chunk of hair. "Did he spaz out, dig his heels in and refuse to take another step?" He grinned openly at the red head in question, his golden irises alight with his innate mischiefness. "I'm pretty sure they have pills for mood swings like that. Or I've heard that therapy helps, why not try that?"

Metallic eyes narrowed into slits, as Silver's features contorted into a heavy scowl. "It's not unheard of that acupuncture can cure things, too. Give it go, it might rid you of your incessant yapping," he growled. "I'll help you with it."

"That means a lot to me, Silv," the Johto champion crooned, a hand on his chest in an apparent show of gratitude, and the other on his hip. "Maybe you'll be more successful than Red at these things."

Green's scoff of disbelief cut in front of any reply Silver could give. "Are you really implying that Red tried acupuncture on you?"

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to imply. I'll say it out loud - Red tried acupuncture. 'Tried' being an important word, since I heard it's supposed to be relaxing," he grimanced as he spoke, the memory clearly unpleasant. "Damn, it was like he covered my back in honey and then set a starving Beautifly on me. It still hurts!" At this, he rubbed his lower back, "Please never give that guy a sharp stick. Trust me, you won't live through it."

"Is that so?" Green spoke up. "You seem to be in tip-top condition, so unless you're lying, then Red never touched you."

"Mere needles can't end my reign!" Gold exclaimed, raising the hand on his chest and clenching it in the air above his head in a triumphant gesture. "Underestimate me, and it'll be your downfall, Green. Didn't you learn your lesson from last time? I kicked your ass once, and I can do it again!"

Green raised an eyebrow, which almost disappeared beneath the tresses of auburn hair against his forehead. "Really? Then you'll recall how I kicked your's no less than eight times before that," he quipped. "And you seem to live on sheer dumb luck, so it's no real coincidence how that last battle came to end."

"Oh, you're just mad because you still haven't beat Red."

"And you _have_?"

Gold let his raised arm fall to his side as he shrugged. "Almost," he admitted. "I'll get round to it someday."

With his lack of admiration lacing every visible inch of his face, Green rolled his eyes. "Let me know how that one turns out, would ya?"

After clicking his fingers, Gold then pointed his index finger in the gym leader's direction. "You got it!" He promised, before his attention was diverted as Silver let out an elongated groan.

"I can see what you mean," the red head grumbled. "If this is Gold when he is sick, then Red must be going out of his mind."

Gold barked out a short laugh. "That's what he told you? Jeez Green, that's one way of putting it lightly."

Disinterested emerald irises flickered back to meet the ones of liquid gold. "I'll make a note of it. But while we're here, where _is_ Red?"

"Red? Well, he - "

Before Gold could reach the mid-point of his sentence, the conversational air was shattered by an echoing roar reverberating from higher up the mountain. Higher up in general, to be more precise.

In unison, five heads -three human, two pokémon- tilted on instinct to stare in the direction of the sound, and the sight that greeted them fit the criteria as well as they could have imagined. A blur of fiery orange emerged from the thick clouds above, rapidly increasing in size as it soared closer to where the three trainers stood, emitting the same sound once again as the outline of it's large form came into clear view.

"Ah, crap," were the words Silver distinguished from the hiss that passed Gold's lips. The Johto champion was quick to turn around, wading as fast as he could manage over the thick, slippery surface. "Remember, I was never here!" He called back to the four visitors behind him.

The answer to the questions buzzing around in both Silver and Green's heads were answered in just one single occurrence.

An enormous dragon came to a halt before them both, landing with an audible thud that vibrated through the ground beneath them. It's scales were the exotic hue of the tropical sun that would never hope to touch the soil on Mt. Silver, and the tip of it's tail was alight with a confident flame.

But the attention was swiftly snatched away from the magnificent, proud creature as the human on it's back leapt off in an easy movement, his landing much quieter, and less forceful than the pokémon's own entrance.

His skin was so white it seemed impossible that the sunlight could have ever warmed it, and remained smooth, free of the goose-bumps or blue tinge that would have affected a newcomer. As he reached up to push back the hat atop raven hair, twin irises of a solid crimson colour came into view, watching the two in front of them with a blank look.

"That answers our question, then," Green commented, dashing the looming silence that would have otherwise followed.

Crimson irises flickered over to stare into emerald green, holding the contact as the latter pair refused to flinch away under the other's intensity.

The third, silver pair observed the elder two teenagers, one with a mild look of amusement playing on his features, while the other held one utterly devoid of emotion. Perhaps their little staring contest was a natural thing they divulged in - or rather, it must have been since any other living being in the world would have long since cowered away from the one, single look from the Kanto champion, an intimidating aura dimming everything around him simply by standing there.

Idly, Silver recalled the times he'd seen the previous champion, Lance, and pondered if such a look somehow came with the title. But then he thought to Gold .. and the mere mental image of the flighty teen in such a way made Silver's head twinge. There was no way the ebony-haired teen could ever pull that off, convincingly or otherwise.

"Gold went that way."

For whatever reason Silver could have had, he could honestly say he was bewildered as to what had possessed him to so casually announce that to the elder champion. But even so, it seemed to be the very thing Red had been inquiring, going by how his eyes snapped away from Green and met the cool pair of metallic, a blazing urge in them that mutely asked the question that the champion would not -or perhaps could not- say.

In response, Silver found himself nodding in the very direction he had last seen the Johto champion leave, and it was barely two seconds later that the familiar messy head of ebony hair appeared from behind a rock. And in a show of his extreme growth in maturity, a sharp yelp of "traitor!" radiated through the area, but as the fierce crimson gaze found the pair of gold, the sound died out as though someone had pressed a non-existent mute button.

And from the expression that froze on Gold's face, it had dawned on the protégé that he'd confirmed the very thing he'd been hoping to hold off for as long as he could manage. Which, by Gold's expectations, would mean forever.

What happened next was, without a doubt, an action that had never crossed Silver's mind in a passing thought that he would ever live to witness. For the legendary Kanto champion; the mute, stoic ravenette who was believed by many to hold limitless power; the living statue whom Silver had never seen react to anything more than a barely existent nod or shake of his head, was suddenly darting towards the younger champion with speed a Deoxys would be envious of.

As for Gold .. he hadn't enough time to stand upright before he found himself tackled to the ground by his mentor. Yet instead of the predictable yelp of surprise and likely pain that Silver had anticipated, he was mildly surprised when Gold did little of the sort, instead babbling out a string of protest.

"Red, I don't know what Snorlax told you, but I can guarantee that it was all lies!" Though he was blatantly being less-than-successful in his attempts to talk reason into the Kanto champion, who held Gold down with one arm with the effort it would have taken a Machoke to hold down a flailing Magikarp, while searching through his pocket with the other. "All I wanted was to go outside; do you realise how hot it was in the cave? And if Snorlax wasn't gonna move away from the entrance and let the cold air in, how could you expect me not to impro - "

The rest of Gold's protest was muffled as Red found the very thing he was searching for, which turned out to be a thermometer. He promptly clamped Gold's jaw shut, the slim glass rod placed between his lips as Red held it in place between his middle and index finger.

"Vui?"

Silver looked down towards the brown fox as she voiced her concern, or possibly confusion, as she observed the scene before her unfold. She looked over to Sneasel, who smoothed the normal-type's fur with a croon of reassurance.

"You know, I think Red is really taking his methods to the next level," he heard Green comment. When he looked up, Silver could see the amusement glinting through those emerald irises. "He wasn't nearly so straight-forward last week."

Silver tilted his head unconsciously in thought. "Are you implying that being around sick people is making Red even more paranoid than humanely possible?" If not, then the evidence to such a claim was still right there in front of them both.

Green's brow crinkled in thought, his eyes not wavering from Gold, who continued his futile escape attempts, which was mostly made up of him kicking his legs about, which served to do little more than send a sizeable amount of snow showering over both him and the one holding him down. Neither seemed to care about, nor even notice the development.

"You could say that," the gym leader soon responded. "But like I said, Red tends to blow a lot of things out of proportion. I remember getting sick once as a kid, and Red wouldn't let me leave my room. It was the most hellish week of my entire life."

"It's enlightening to see how sympathetic you are to Gold's situation," came the curt reply, as cool, metallic irises redirected themselves back to the two brunettes. Beside him, he could hear Green chuckle at his reply.

"Are you saying that you want me to go over there and help?"

The appropriate period of time having passed, Red plucked the thermometer from Gold's mouth, though kept his hand clamped over the lower half of the younger champion's face. In the largest display of emotion Silver was certain he'd ever see from the Kanto champion, the ravenette's features tensed, his eyebrows tightening together and the corners of his lips pulling into a hint of a frown as he examined the result on the glass rod.

As the hand eventually left his face, Gold inhaled deeply, and loudly, the exaggerated movements of his chest rising and falling being a clear indicator of his innate melodramatic nature. "Are you satisfied now?" He questioned through each intake of breath, coughing slightly as he did. "I told you yesterday, if you keep throwing me in the snow then I'm not surprised I'm sick. Do you want me to die up here, Red?"

Unfortunately for him, the elder champion didn't appear to be paying attention. He put the thermometer back into the pocket of his jeans, and offered his hand out to Gold once he'd stood up. But once he'd heaved the younger to his feet, he wasted no time in placing a hand either side of his hips and lifting Gold off his feet, carrying the teen over his shoulder as he began the short trek back up to the top of the mountain.

"No, I'd definitely say this is more entertaining to watch," Silver replied, as he heard Gold's heavy groan of frustration at being carried. And as the both followed the retreating champion, who showed no visible strain of carrying the younger, still flailing teen, Silver caught sight of Green smirking from the corner of his vision.

"Good choice," the emerald eyed teen responded, chuckling lightly as they heard Gold's latest protest of;

"You see how he treats me?"

xxx

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**Author's Note:** Alright-y then, the set-up is done! The next chapter awaits ~

So sorry if the whole thing was weird 'n clunky at times .. it surprised me how challenging it was to write this chapter. It could have been better, but I guess it doesn't suck, at the very least. I hope you can forgive me for any awkwardness :P

Reviews are love!


	3. Chapter Three

**Author's Note:** Ahh! Finally it's done xD I blame three things for the slow update - Animal Crossing, Secondaryshipping, and two other incomplete stories. Oh well, I'm making progress :D

**Disclaimer:** I've never once come close to owning Pokémon.

* * *

**Chapter Three**

xxx

It was with both fascination and an underlying hint of annoyance that Silver watched the scene unfold. Having followed the two reclusive champions back up to the cave a short distance up the mountain, taking them to the peak, Silver had reached the opening just in time to see Red drop his protégé onto a pile of material that seemed to act as a make-shift hospital bed, evidenced by the natural remedies littering the ground surrounding it; bowls of mashed up berries being the most potent.

And thus, Silver witnessed with his very eyes the renowned Kanto champion, known throughout the region for being stoic and intimidating, a human form of fierce power, switch into full mother-Chansey mode. It was rather creepy in comparison.

Once Red had been given the medicine Green had bought up, he'd wasted no time in forcing pain-killers down Gold's throat and pressing a cool flannel to his forehead. To top things off, Gold never once protested. Unless his displeased facial expression counted, but that was up for debate. It was impressive in itself that Gold wasn't verbally expressing what he obviously felt.

Eventually his silence was broken when he coughed, earning him a sharp look from Red.

"Yeesh, chill out, Red. It's a cough, I'm not dying over here."

But of course, what were meant to be reassuring words went ignored by the older champion. He was quick to rub the sides of Gold's neck gently, presumably checking for swollen glands.

"Red, all this smothering won't help anyone. If anything, it'll make things worse," Green interjected, though Silver suspected he was amused by the scene. "If he's as sick as you say, then he needs rest, not emotional stress."

To Silver's amazement, Red frowned - officially the second expression he'd seen cross over his face.

"Listen to the genius, Red," Gold added, pulling the thermometer from his mouth and dropping it in a nearby empty cup. "Do you want my untimely death from emotional stress to be weighing down on your conscience? Leave me be or at least get Snorlax to unblock the entrance and let some cold air in. I'm roasting alive over here!" For emphasis, he fanned himself with his hand.

Red frowned in response.

"Okay, fine," Gold replied in the most nonchalant tone he could produce. "I'll just sit here and meet my tragic demise by melting. Let my legacy forever live on."

Green smirked. "I'll have that written on your tombstone: Gold - the lesser known Johto champion; we should never have put the ice-cream in the microwave."

"Tsk, watch the tone there, Green. If you don't crank down the attitude, then you are gonna get seriously haunted."

"Oh dear, however will I live with the torment of recurring messages on my mirror and flickering light switches?"

Gold threw his head back with a dramatic cackle. "You'll never know peace again!"

Having remained on the side-lines, Silver rolled his eyes; for a split second, he could have sworn he saw Pikachu do the same from his perch atop his trainer's head. "The one thing worse than a living, breathing pain-in-the-ass; one that can walk through walls."

Golden eyes diverted themselves in his direction. "Now, now, what's this? Is Silver gaining a sense of humour?"

Emerald eyes soon found the same target. "Gold, my friend, you'd be amazed at what Silver has done in these past few months. I'd say that's enough proof that you are officially bad for his health and natural growth."

"Objection!" Gold protested; he would have stood up if Red has not chosen the time to check his temperature - _again_. "I'm the one who made Silver the man he is today, isn't that right, my red-headed rival?" The response he received was a disagreeing scoff. "Don't lie to me; had it not been for my influence you'd be that arrogant, pushy jerk-ass who whined to the entire region whenever I beat him."

"Don't flatter yourself," Silver growled out, a glare fixated on his former-rival. "It's hardly influence if you were stalking me to achieve it."

"It's not stalking if it was pure coincidence that we couldn't stay apart. That's fate, Silver," the younger champion gushed. "True love; soul-mates; you and I were meant to be ~ "

"Well then it seems it's true what they say," Green cut in before Silver could react. "Opposites really do attract. You two would have beautiful babies."

Two years ago, the verbal explosion that erupted from the red-head would have been inevitable with those words. But after enduring being the target for the constant banters between the two involved and whoever else happened to be around at the time, Silver reduced his reaction to little more than a frown and a tense posture.

That didn't mean it wasn't mildly satisfying to witness an annoyed Red slap both of them round the back of their heads.

"Yeesh, Red! Where did you get your medical degree?" Gold complained, rubbing the back of his head. "I don't know what those people told you, but physical abuse doesn't make illness go away. What I need is fresh air and light exercise." To emphasise his point, Gold made to stand up, but a hand on either shoulder promptly forced him to sit back down. "Not to mention free-will," he added under his breath. "It's on days like this I wish I'd brought my jenga. I'd have something to distract me, since radio reception sucks up here."

"I hate to agree with him, but he has a point," Green chipped in. "You're smothering him, Red. Don't you remember that medical drama you once watched?"

That explained the botched medical knowledge.

Crimson eyes stared back into emerald for a long moment, all the while Red's hand never left Gold's shoulder.

"Red, you're the one who's always trying to teach me independence. Let me a breathe a little!" Gold urged, his melodramatic tone of voice enough to make Silver cringe. He'd forgotten what it was like to be in Gold's presence. "I promise I will rest. Silver can make sure of that!"

Before Silver could comprehend what was going on, Gold was on his feet and a mere few inches away from him.

"You two can have your alone time, and we can have ours. The simple solutions are the best." His arm swiftly found its way around Silver's. "Have fun, you two!"

The protest that would have been never passed Silver's lips as Gold pulled him aside, quickly navigating through the cavern. Snorlax seemed to be on their side, as he shuffled aside to allow them to pass. A moment later, Silver found himself almost knee-deep in snow.

The nano-second they had vacated the cave and both Red and Green were out of sight, Gold's full attention was on Silver. "So, dear rival of mine, how's life been treating you?"

Silver chose not to roll his eyes, instead shrugging. "Can't complain."

Golden eyes widened to comical proportions. "You what? Silv, are you feeling okay; you _always_ find something to whine about." His eyes then narrowed as he tapped his chin in mock thought. "Is it possible my ever enlightening absence in your life has taught you the valuable lesson not to take things for granted?"

Silver scoffed before he could stop himself. "Don't flatter yourself," he snapped; Gold just smiled.

"Ah, come on, Silv. This is no way for long time rivals to reunite after such a long, tragic separation." Then he pouted. There went the miniscule hope spot that Gold had matured in some way. Perhaps such things weren't meant to be.

With an attempt at a scrutinising look, Gold clicked his tongue. "You were much nicer the last time I saw you. Back then you actually smiled once in a while; I was beginning to think you'd grown out of that sulky phase. Hasn't the past year been good to you?"

"It's hard to call it a good year when you've been forced to suffer Green's company for an entire year."

Gold winced. "Ouch! Okay, point taken. But never fear, I am back in action!"

"For how long?" Silver inquired, to which Gold shrugged.

"For however long it takes to get through to you a second time," he said, kicking his foot through the snow and scattering the power-like substance everywhere.

Silver was quick to step out of the way. "I'll give it three days before you're back up here explaining the rules of jenga to Red." He frowned, a thought coming to mind. "Though you and Red playing board games isn't something I can picture. Why the hell did you decide to stay up here for so long? Things can be so animated every day on top of some Arceus fore-saken mountain."

"You said that right! Urgh, last time Red and I played Monopoly, it was a disaster. Anyway, you're seeing this place on better days. But still, I just like the peace and quiet occasionally. Either that or I'm a glutton for punishment."

"Or you're just insane."

Gold turned sharply to face him, golden eyes wide and looking quite scandalised. "Damn! How did you figure that one out?" He demanded, then eased up on the tone, "Well, I reckon Red is crazier than I am. He's been up here for longer than I can remember."

"In my opinion, making the journey more than once is insanity. To stay voluntarily is an entirely different matter."

Again, Gold shrugged. "What can I say, I have staying power ~ " He purred, his lips curving into a playful smirk when Silver rolled his eyes. "Well, when I'm in one-hundred percent glowing health I am."

"And for that matter, you look awful." Though Silver had to admit, the pale skin and dark circles under his eyes could easily be blamed the year-long residence Gold had taken up in a mountain. The sickly complexion looked entirely out of place on Gold; his usual tan was much better.

"You really know how to boost my confidence, Silv." The ebony-haired champion skipped forward as gracefully as he could manage through the thick snow. "I've never felt so radiant ~ !" He sang, his voice defying logic and echoing slightly. A normal person would have instantly been buried six-feet under.

"How many avalanches have you caused with that foghorn voice of yours?" Silver was half-curious, but the answer he received came in the form of a laugh. "I'll take that to mean 'I lost count after the first month,'" he muttered under his breath.

"You should have more sympathy for me," Gold protested, slowing to a halt to allow Silver to catch up. "Thanks to sleeping on the cold cave floor, I now have really bad back pains." For emphasis, he rubbed his lower back with both hands.

"I advised against it, but you wouldn't be deterred," Silver pointed out; it had indeed been a part of their last conversation almost a year ago. Looking back on it, his attempts to deter Gold from anything had been futile. "You deserve no sympathy."

Gold arched one eyebrow, tilting his head as his eyes looked into the pair of silver. "Quite the charmer, aren't you?" His eyelids lowered a little, while his lips curved into a dangerously seductive grin. "Aren't you going to offer me a back massage? I hear you have magical hands ~ "

Silver stared at him, raising an eyebrow slightly. "I will neither confirm nor deny that." He felt an overwhelming desire to take a step in the opposite direction as Gold wiggled both eyebrows at him. "Are you sexually deprived as well?"

"Are you? No, wait - " He looked away, raising a hand to shield his face. " - don't answer that."

When he looked back, Silver was frowning.

"Oh c'mon, Silv, I'm only pulling your leg."

The red-head merely shook his head, turning away and walking in the opposite direction. "I was right," he mused aloud. "This mountain has sapped the last of what little sanity you had remaining."

"Hey!" Came the protest; Gold was at his side in an instant, his arms folded across his chest. "Don't blame the mountain; it'll get upset."

Silver scoffed, the action causing a white cloud to obscure his vision momentarily. "Forget it. I never wanted to be here in the first place."

"It's not so bad once you get used to it," Gold insisted, nonchalantly kicking up a miniature snow storm around both their ankles. "Especially on the days Crystal comes to visit. She brings brownies!" As if that made all the difference. "One time she brought Monopoly, but lemme tell ya', there's a reason we banned that. I wasn't kidding them I said Red hates losing; he throws a total tantrum if he doesn't win." He shivered dramatically. "I was two seconds away from being stoned to death by the little pieces you move around the board with. I swear I still have the marks to prove it."

Now that was debatable.

"I assume you banned it because it's a terrible game," Silver said truthfully. Then again, he couldn't see how anyone could find board games entertaining. The concept was completely lost to him. He looked at Gold, who was rubbing the back of his head.

" .. that too," he admitted.

"And you're still determined to beat Red, knowing that he will murder you if you succeed?"

Golden eyes stared at him. " .. in board games?"

For a fleeting moment, Silver felt like hitting him. "Pokémon battling!" He snapped. "Remember, the reason you trekked all the way up here and decided to take up residence for a full year?"

"He's training me, that's all," Gold replied, looking away towards the darkening sky in the distance. "And pokémon battling is different; he doesn't go off like a sulky kid if I manage to beat him at that."

Silver followed the other's gaze for a moment, observing the pink sky as it gradually dissolved into a shade of navy, then redirected his gaze back to Gold. "And what happens if he beats you?"

"I figured I shouldn't take it personally. I'm still training, and I'm not even close to Red's level yet." He pulled his gaze from the horizon and back into silver eyes. "Though I _would_ take it personally if after all this time I wasn't getting any better."

"Now that would be embarrassing. Especially for you."

A grin touched Gold's features, displaying a hint of his white teeth. "I'm getting better. Red is a really good coach."

_Now there's a debatable statement_, Silver thought dryly. "If you say so," he spoke aloud.

Gold's positive mood didn't fade. "I'll have to show you my moves one day~" He purred, tracing a hand over Silver's chest as he walked past him and away from the cliff's edge. Yet another occurrence the red-head had long since gotten used to.

"Why do you insist on making everything sound sexual?" He groaned, turning to face the very bane of his existence.

"Now that's just your perverted mind taking it that way." Gold rolled his eyes in an almost patronising manner. "Jeez, it's always the quiet ones."

Silver stared at him, sliding his chilled hands into his jacket pockets. "Should I be concerned about what implications that statement has on Red?"

Gold blew a chunk of ebony hair away from his eyes. "Red isn't actually that quiet. I was genuinely surprised." He gave a small smile to Silver, which faded as the red-head raised an eyebrow. "What? Sometimes he can be louder than me. Which I never thought could be possible. And I won't lie; I am loud."

For a long few moments, Silver found that he could only stare. Could Gold even hear what came out of his mouth on a regular basis?

" .. are you doing this consciously, or is it in your nature to make everything sound disgusting?"

To be perfectly honest, Silver often wondered. The two choices seemed equally as likely as the other.

Golden eyes blinked. "What?" He repeated, but a moment later it seemed to click. "Silver, I was talking about singing!"

The red-head came to a halt. " .. singing?"

"Yes!" Gold urged, looking rather -dare he say it?- exasperated. He ran his hand through his wild hair. "Urgh, and you thought I was the perverted one," he mumbled, just loud enough for the other to hear. Fortunately the comment dimmed in comparison to his earlier one.

Silver blinked. "Red sings?" He wasn't sure if he were hoping for confirmation or denial. Yes, Gold exaggerated about more or less everything, but seriously?

"Sometimes," was Gold's answer. "When he's in the right mood." He looked back to the red-head, who seemed capable of little more than staring with one eyebrow slightly raised.

"Uh-huh .. " Silver eventually settled on. What else was there to say?

"And," Gold continued, "only when he's comfortable around you."

_Meaning there is no possible way I will ever have to experience that_. The thought alone was strangely relieving. Whether or not there was any truth in Gold's claim. "If you're going to gossip then at least tell me the believable stuff."

Gold's immediate reply was hindered by a sudden cough, but he quickly recovered. "Not my problem. You could have visited before and seen for yourself. Crystal visits every other week, what's stopping you?"

As if enduring the hike with Green's constant chattering wasn't bad enough, there was a horrible feeling writhing in Silver's stomach that pushed forth the imminent knowledge that going through the same with Crystal would be worse. She was fine in small doses, but a full day and night?

Silver visibly winced. _No. No thank you_.

He hardly noticed that Gold was no longer walking beside him. When the development occurred to him, Silver halted and looked over his shoulder.

Golden eyes stared back at him, a trace of genuine hurt churning in them. " .. didn't you miss me?"

A foreign emotion jabbed Silver in his chest. He found himself blinking a few times; it vaguely occurred to him that he was wanting for Gold to elaborate. But the Johto champion just continued staring.

Silver sighed lightly. This was a conversation he would have preferred to avoid. " .. what are you expecting me to say to that?" Despite the honesty in his answer, Silver felt worse for having said it. He was beginning to wish he'd stayed silent.

"A yes would have been nice," Gold replied, raising one shoulder in a half-variant of a shrug.

For a brief moment, Silver contemplated his answer. His conclusion didn't take long to come to. _Screw it_, he decided, _why give him a dishonest answer?_

"I knew eventually you would come back," he replied honestly, "so I never thought about it much."

Gold's face scrunched up slightly, as though he'd bitten into a sour fruit. "Oh cheers! I missed you, too." His sarcasm was painfully blatant.

"If you'd asked me to visit, I might have."

"You knew where I was; I thought that you would have visited on your own initiative."

"I never did that before you chose this place as your residence, what makes you think I would now there is a mountain climb added to the deal?" To be fair, Silver had never been a social Butterfree, and anyone who looked in his general direction could see that. Meeting up with a friend was something he could be convinced into doing, arranging said meeting was definitely not going to happen.

Gold rolled his eyes, one hand coming to rest on his hip. "Show that you actually care."

"Well, it's not like you made the effort and came down once in a while." He had a point, right? Gold couldn't have been so overwhelmingly busy that he couldn't plan to spare a few days to return to the land of the living. "I was just returning the favour."

But to the red-head's surprise, Gold actually looked surprised. As though Silver had missed the obvious factor. "Silv, I was training."

.. obviously.

"Non-stop?"

"More or less." Gold's hand trailed round from his hip to his lower back, rubbing small circles. "Red is a slave driver."

When Gold winced, Silver sensed a hint of truth in the statement. Not that the idea was hard to believe in the first place. "That sadist," were the red-head's words of choice.

"You said it," Gold replied, to which Silver smirked. "Something right up your street, eh?" He added with an alluring smile.

"Absolutely not." He couldn't stop from rolling his eyes when Gold laughed.

"I'm kidding."

_You don't say_, the red-head mentally snarked. "Sometimes I wonder when I talk to you."

"Yepp." Gold other hand joined the other one as he arched his back a little. "That tends to happen a lot."

_To put it one way_, Silver thought, running a gloved hand through his hair to rid it from the dusting of ice particles. The snow-fall was very light at the top of the mountain, but it was also constant. In the time he and Gold had been walking near the cliff's edge his hair had once again become encrusted in a delicate layer of ice. At least it wasn't as cold up there as it had been on the way up. In whichever way that piece of logic made any sense.

With a sigh, he slid his hand back in his jacket pocket. "Try and be more obvious for the next few days."

Those words were spoken and Gold's attention was spiked. He looked at his former-rival with curious, perhaps even hopeful eyes. " .. so you're staying?" His voice was quiet, a harsh contrast to ten minutes earlier. It was somewhat relieving to have the risk of an avalanche drastically reduced.

Metallic eyes met the golden gaze. "I'll consider it."

When Gold smiled, a genuine emotion lighting up his features, Silver failed at keep the small smile from his own lips. "Better than nothing," he said, clearly content with the answer he'd received.

"I'm putting up with the snow to spend time with you." Silver shook his book free of the icy substance to get his point across. "Be thankful."

The way Gold nodded was a perfect parallel of a fame-hungry Jigglypuff who'd just been promised it's big break. "I am thankful!" He came dangerously close to singing. Silver was thankful he kept his distance. "So thankful, in fact, that it makes me wanna hug you .. " Or not.

"Too soon," Silver determined, choosing not to take a step backwards.

But Gold wasn't discouraged. "You're my bestest friend," he cooed, "in the whole world .. "

Standing his ground, Silver made no attempt to move, instead keeping his stare firmly locked on golden eyes. Which had widened ever so slightly and were beginning to shine with moisture.

_Oh for Arceus' sake_, Silver mentally groaned. Then aloud, "You know it won't work. Stop now before you embarrass yourself."

Gold winced, as though he'd been physically struck. " .. Silver .. " He murmured, the pleading in his eyes enough to rival those of the most adorable Eevee in existence.

Too bad certain events had left Silver without much liking for them. "I mean it," he said firmly; his eyes instinctively narrowing into a glare. One that broke the other's façade and morphed his features into a smile.

"I'll get you one day."

"You keep telling yourself that," Silver rebuked, looking away when Gold winked at him. "Idiot," he muttered, but without much spite.

"You love it really," Gold chanted, matching the red-head's pace as they both resumed their aimless stroll.

"Your ego is big enough."

The smile on Gold's face became overly-sappy. "Why, thank you ~ "

If the earlier conversation had implied anything, then it was now undeniably confirmed. The past year hadn't affected Gold's maturity in the slighted. The lack of human interaction had definitely been a bad idea from the start.

"I thought Green was bad," Silver muttered, apparently loud enough for Gold to hear if the latter's idiotic smile was a hint to that. "That is not a compliment."

"I'm just happy."

"When are you not?"

Gold fell silent for a short while, his eyes narrowing in thought and his lips pressed together slightly. "I'd have to say the honour goes to last week when I had constipation," he eventually decided.

Silver grimaced, shutting his eyes tightly. "Not information I needed," he complained. Then again, he should have expected a disturbingly casual announcement such as this.

Unfortunately, Gold wasn't quite done. "It was the most traumatic experience of my life - "

"We're ending this discussion now." Silver growled through grit teeth, mentally praying that their conversation would be erased from his mind by the end of the day. And on cue, Gold laughed at the same moment Silver gave a weary sigh.

"Good to have to back, Silv."

The red-head felt a warm weight on his shoulder, and opened his eyes to see Gold's smiling face close to his. "Except I wasn't the one who went anywhere," he pointed out quietly. He was silently surprised at the lack of bitterness in his tone.

Gold stepped a small distance away from his former-rival, flicking stray chunks of hair from his eyes. "You know what I mean."

"Then be more specific."

The idiot actually saluted. "Yes sir ~ "

"You're impossible."

"And you wouldn't have me any other way."

_Don't make me question that logic_, Silver thought with a heavy sigh. "Remind me why I am here again .. "

"Because you missed me so much, you just couldn't stay away from me any longer."

"I was dragged up the mountain in a violation of my own free will." Well, it was partially true.

"You really know how to make someone feel good."

"You've known me for five years. You'll get over it. And your for your benefit, I will repeat," he added once he caught sight of Gold pouting from the corner of his vision, "it's not going to work."

"Why are you so mean to me?"

"Since when did it start bothering you?"

The corners of Gold's lips twitched into a slight frown. "It didn't. I'm just asking."

"Does it matter?" Silver supressed the urge to sigh.

"I'm just hoping for an insight."

The opening of the cave was a relatively short distance away; Silver picked up his pace, all too willing for the idea of no longer being knee-deep in snow to become a reality. "I have to put up with you," his response came out as an annoyed huff; far from his intention.

It had the obvious effect on Gold, whose frown remained. "You make that sound like a chore, Silv."

"The more you ignore it, the worse it is when you eventually have to deal with it." He hadn't meant for such a reply, but even in the few times Gold wasn't in the best of moods, such banters were instinctive. That didn't mean Silver wasn't certain if he regretted speaking.

Though his decision became much more solid when Gold slowed to a halt. "That's mean."

_To state the obvious_, Silver thought, his steps quickly slowed to a halt as he turned to face his former rival. "Then let's end this discussion." He fought back a sigh when neither Gold's expression nor posture shifted in the slightest. " .. if it makes you feel better," he cleared his throat quietly, retaining eye-contact with the other teenager, "you're a good friend."

The grin that tore through Gold's sullen expression could have posed a serious risk of splitting his face in two. "Hooray!" He cheered, actually jumping in the air. "Faith in humanity is restored!"

_Typical_. "Don't push it," Silver responded, but as Gold continued to smile, he couldn't manage to keep his own hidden. At least, not well. He quickly turned away before the other could notice, fixing his gaze on the darkening sky.

But Gold seemed content. "Good enough." His smile didn't even decay as he failed to hold back a cough.

_Time for a change of subject_, Silver decided, and commented on the first thing that came to mind: "It got dark rather fast."

Snow crunched beneath Gold's trainers as he took a step forward. "Yeah, it does up here," he said. A wince flashed over his face as the ache returned to his lower back.

"Not to mention colder," Silver went on, then turned back to the other with a frown. "For that matter, how can you stand wearing so little?"

'Little' being defined by the long-sleeved shirt and jeans Gold was clad in - Silver was wearing several layers and he was still freezing! But Gold didn't seem affected in the slightest, as though he were in New Bark Town during the warm summer evenings.

"You get used to it," Gold replied nonchalantly.

"Which is probably how you got sick in the first place," Silver muttered. He wondered if either Gold or Red were remotely aware of that development.

Gold just shrugged. "Eh, probably."

Right, the one time Silver made an admirable effort to uphold a conversation and Gold, usually the one who never shut up, couldn't care less. "Let's just get back inside before either of us freezes to death," the red-head suggested; snow was beginning to soak right through his shoes. Again, how could Gold stand it? "Or Red finds you out here and breaks both our necks."

"Okay, then."

They both turned back towards their previous destination, but neither made an attempt to restart a conversation. Gold hummed to himself quietly whilst casually kicking up chunks of snow that mercifully avoided Silver, who was simply content with getting out of the chilled atmosphere. Though it didn't mean he wasn't frustrated when he looked down and his feet and noticed the extent of how much the snow had soaked through his jeans.

"Ugh," he groaned, flicking his hair from his face, "I preferred the volcanoes in Hoenn to this frozen death trap."

The comment earned him a scoff from Gold. "Is there anything you don't complain about, Silv?"

"Well, it is nice to know you won't die up here if you make it through the night." Icy water drenched his socks, and he forcibly held back a grimace at the unpleasant sensation. "From what I've heard, Red is insisting you see a proper doctor to make sure you don't have any life-threatening disease. Tell me, is he always so paranoid?"

"Sadly, yes he is."

It was a positive, at least. "Glad to know someone is concerned about living conditions up here."

"Red is concerned about everything," Gold confirmed, jogging the last few steps towards the opening of the cave.

"Before today I wouldn't have believed it." A part of Silver wondered exactly how often Red freaked out about .. well, anything. If the day's events were anything to go by, then he was confident he had a fairly good understanding.

"He tends to surprise a lot of people."

_Knowing that he sings would shock anyone_. "Always the quiet ones."

Before he took a step inside, Gold turned to smile at the other. "Indeed it is."

xxx

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**Author's Note:** I take so long with build-up sometimes .. gimme another chapter or two and you'll see exactly where this is going. And I'll try and make 'em longer. Inevitably that always happens, but still :D

Hope you liked~


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